Heatable hair roller and heating unit for use therewith

ABSTRACT

A heatable hair roller for use in combination with a heating unit, the heatable hair roller being formed of a tubular body having an alloy therein with a predetermined Curie temperature, an electrical heating element in heat transfer relation with the alloy and having contacts at opposite ends of the tubular body and apertures in the tubular body at the opposite ends aligned with the contacts, and the heating unit including a ramp having a heating position, a permanent magnet carried by the ramp at the heating position for magnetically holding a hair roller to be heated thereat and a pair of electrical contacts disposed on opposite sides of the ramp at the heating position and protruding from the ramp to be received in the apertures of a hair roller to be heated to provide electricity to the exposed contacts in the hair roller. The permanent magnet holds a hair roller to be heated at the heating position on the ramp until the alloy within the hair roller reaches the predetermined Curie temperature at which time the hair roller is released to roll down the ramp.

United States Patent 1191 Fleischhauer IIEATABLE IIAIR ROLLER ANDHEATING UNIT FOR USE THEREWITII [75] Inventor: Eugene T. Fleischhauer,Stamford.

Conn.

[73] Assignee: Clairol Incorporated, New York,

[22] Filed: Aug. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 389,847

[52] U.S. Cl 219/222; 132/33 R; 219/242;

219/495; 317/133; 335/146 [51] Int. Cl 05b 1/02; A45d 4/12 [58] Field ofSearch 219/495. 222-226,

3.626.150 12/1971 Kress ..219/222 Primary Examiner-A. Bartis Attorney,Agent, or Firm-David J. Mugford; George A. Mentis; Richard H. Brink[II/IIIIIIII/ Apr. 29, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT A heatable hair roller for usein combination with a heating unit, the heatable hair roller beingformed of a tubular body having an alloy therein with a predeterminedCurie temperature. an electrical heating element in heat transferrelation with the alloy and having contacts at opposite ends of thetubular body and apertures in the tubular body at the opposite endsaligned with the contacts. and the heating unit including a ramp havinga heating position. a permanent magnet carried by the ramp at theheating position for magnetically holding a hair roller to be heatedthereat and a pair of electrical contacts disposed on opposite sides ofthe ramp at the heating position and protruding from the ramp to bereceived in the apertures of a hair roller to be heated to provideelectricity to the exposed contacts in the hair roller. The permanentmagnet holds a hair roller to be heated at the heating position on theramp until the alloy within the hair roller reaches the predeterminedCurie temperature at which time the hair roller is released to roll downthe ramp.

15 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures L 94 66 8e 64 POINT HEATABLE HAIR ROLLERAND HEATING UNIT FOR USE THEREWITII BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Fieldof the Invention The present invention pertains to hair rollers and.more particularly, to hair rollers adapted to be electrically heated ina heating unit prior to application to the hair.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art The use of hair rollers heated on anauxiliary unit and applied to the hair has become prevalent recently dueto the improved characeristics of curls obtained with the use of heat.Such hair rollers must be heated to a predetermined temperature in orderto assure that the heat at the external hair winding surface thereof isproper for the setting of hair; and. accordingly, various controls havebeen utilized. such as lamps, thermostatic switches and the like, toindicate to a user when a hair roller has reached the desiredtemperature. In the past. such auxiliary heating units have utilized aplurality of upright posts for receiving the hair rollers, with the hairrollers either containing a heat storage substance adapted to retainheat imparted to the hair roller from the posts or containing anelectrical heating element with connections supplied thereto by theposts or other suitable contacts on the heating unit.

In order to overcome the disadvantages of the slow heating provided bythe above-described heating units as well as the problems associatedwith bringing the hair rollers to the proper temperture, a hair-settingdevice has been proposed in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 3,594,543 toGus Wallin wherein the hair rollers have a tubular core formed of analloy having a predetermined Curie temperature and a heating elementwith pin terminals or contacts connected thereto and extending fromopposite ends of the hair rollers and the heating unit is formed with amagnet disposed to hold a hair roller in position with the pin terminalsengaging a pair of electrical supply contacts connected with a source ofelectricity. With this hair-setting device, a hair roller is placed inthe heating unit and electricity is supplied to the heating elementwithin the hair roller by means of the pin terminals. When thetemperature within the hair roller reaches the predetermined Curietemperature, which is approximately twice the desired exterior workingtemperature for the hair roller, the permeability of the alloy coredecreases and will have effected a gradual loss of magnetism to thepoint that there is no longer sufficient magnetic attraction between thecore and the magnet to hold the roller, the roller dropping down into atray for application to the hair by a user. The hair-setting device ofU.S. Pat. No. 3,594,543, while presenting many advantages over the priorart, has the disadvantage that the pin terminals protrude from oppositeends of the hair rollers and, thus, are effectively very hot extensionsof the heated internal structure of the hair roller. The heat at the pinterminals renders the hair rollers inconvenient to handle since it isuncomforable to the touch and can be injurious to the skin and hair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior artby providing electrically heatable hair rollers and a heating unit foruse therewith wherein the hair rollers can be heated without requiringexposed heat conductive portions uncomfortable to the touch.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair rollercarrying an alloy body therein having a predetermined Curie temperature,an electrical heating wire in the hair roller and terminals connected toopposite ends of the electrical heating wire and recessed from the outersurface of the hair roller.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a.heating unitfor electrically heating hair rollers including a ramp having a heatingposition with a permanent magnet disposed thereat between a pair ofelectrical supply contacts protruding from the ramp, the supply contactsbeing adapted to be received by a hair roller to provide an electricalconnection with recessed heater contacts carried thereby.

The present invention has an additional object in pro viding acombination of a heatable hair roller formed of a tubular body withapertures therein aligned with heater contacts for a heating elementdisposed within the tubular body in heat transfer relation with an alloyhaving a predetermined Curie temperature, and a heating unit including aramp with a permanent magnet and protruding supply contacts at a heatingposition therealong, the heatable hair roller being held at the heatingposition by the magnetic field of the permanent magnet with the supplycontacts providing an electrical connection with the heater contacts andthe hair roller being released to move along the ramp once the alloy isheated to the Curie temperature.

Yet, another object of the present invention is to utilize a rack andpinion gear type system for heating, heatable hair rollers in a heatingunit wherein the heating unit is provided with an electricallyconductive rack section to engage a pinion in the heatable hair roller,the pinion having teeth made of non-conductive material for thermalinsulation with apertures or interstices at the bottom of the teethformed by an electrically conductive ring adapted to be contacted by thecrests of the conductive rack teeth.

Some of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art arethat the structure of the heating unit is simple and easy tomanufacture, the heatable hair roller has an outer configurationpreventing hair strands and finger flesh from combing in contact withthe heater contacts, the heatable hair roller has teeth to provide apinion function with the heating unit without entangling hair due totheir formation within the wall of the hair roller not extending beyondthe outer surface thereof, and the heatable hair roller need only bedropped into the widened mouth of the heatiing unit to accomplishheating thereof to a predetermined temperature.

The present invention is generally characterized in a heatable hairroller including a tubular body defining an outer surface for the hairroller and having apertures therein, an alloy having a predeterminedCurie temperature disposed in the tubular body and an electrical heatingelement in heat transfer relation with the alloy including contactsdisposed within the tubular body in alignment with the apertures toexpose the contacts in recessed relation to the outer surface of thetubular body to permit electricity to be supplied to the electricalheating element.

The present invention is further generally characterized in a heatingunit for use with the above heatable hair roller including a rampdefining a heating position and an upper portion thereabove, a passagefor supplying a hair roller to be heated to the upper portion of theramp, a magnet carried by the ramp at the heating position for holding ahair roller to be heated thereat. and a pair of electrical contactsdisposed on opposite sides of the ramp at the heating position andadapted to have a source of electricity connected thereacross, the pairof electrical contacts each including electrically conductiveprotrusions extending from the ramp for supplying electricity to a hairroller to be treated.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the preferred embodimenttaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of aheating unit having a heatable hair roller therein according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional front elevation of the heating unit and heatablehair roller of FIG. 1 taken along line 22.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the heating unit and heatablehair roller of FIG. 1 taken along line 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of the heatable hair roller accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the heatable hair roller according to thepresent invention taken along line 55 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A heating unit for heating aheatable hair roller 12 in accordance with the present invention isillustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 and includes a housing 14, preferablyintegrally constructed of a plastic material, having a rear wall 16 andparallel side walls 18 and 20 which, together with bosses 22 and 24extending laterally from the side walls, define a substantiallyvertically extending passage 26 having a length and width correspondingsubstantially to the length and diameter of heatable hairroller 12, therear wall 16 being curved at the top of the housing 14 to define awidened mouth for the pasage 26. A sloping ramp 28 is formed in thehousing 14 with an upper portion 30 disposed under the passage 26, theramp sloping downwardly from upper portion 30 to define a heatingposition 32 disposed in alignment with bosses 22 and 24 and a receptacle34 at the bottom end thereof, the receptacle 34 being defined by theramp 28, extensions 36 and 38 of the side walls 18 and 20, respectively,and a front wall 40 having a recess 42 formed therein to facilitateaccess to heated hair rollers held in the receptacle 34.

A pair of supply contacts 44 and 46 are disposed on opposite sides ofthe ramp 28 at the heating position 32, and each supply contact includesa plurality of electrically conductive teeth 48 protruding from theupper surface of the ramp and electrically connected by posts 50 withL-shaped terminals 52. The supply contacts 44 and 46 are adapted to beconnected by leads 54 and 56, respectively, with terminals of anysuitable source of electricity, the leads 54 and 56 being preferablyconnected with a recessed male plug mounted in a wall of the housing 14and adapted to receive commercially available alternating current bymeans of a removable cord, not shown. A permanent bar magnet 58 issecured to the underside of ramp 28 at the heating position 32 by meansof screws 60, the permanent magnet 58 extending laterally across theramp between the supply contacts 44 and 46. The upper portion 30 of ramp28 has teeth 62 protruding therefrom in alignment with the supplycontact teeth 48 on both sides of the ramp; however, the teeth 62 areformed integrally with the housing of a plastic material and, thus, arenot electrically conductive.

A heatable hair roller according to the present invention, asillustrated in FIGS. 1-5, if formed of a tubular body 64, preferablyconstructed of a plastic, heat insulating material, and including acylindrical wall 65 having a smooth outer surface 66 adapted to havehair to be treated wound therearound and an inner surface 68 havingannular recesses 70 and 72 formed therein adjacent opposite end walls 74and 76 of the tubular body. A core 78 is disposed within tubular body 64and has an electrical resistance heating element 80 wound therearound,the heating element 80 extending from a heater ring contact 82 receivedin annular recess 70 to a heater ring contact 84 received in annularrecess 72. A plurality of apertures 86 are formed in a ring around thetubular body 64 adjacent end wall 74 in alignment with ring contact 82such that the ring contact is exposed through the apertures, and aplurality of protruding teeth are formed within the cylindrical wall 65of the tubular body extending convergingly outward between apertures 86,the teeth 88 not extending beyond the outer surface 66 of the tubularbody. Similarly, a plurality of apertures 90 are formed in a ring aroundthe tubular body 64 adjacent end wall 76 to expose ring contact 84 and aplurality of protruding teeth 92 are formed within the cylindrical wall65 extending between the apertures 88, but not beyond outer surface 66.A cylindrical body 94 formed of an alloy having a predetermined Curietemperature is disposed within tubular body 64 in heat transfer relationwith the heating element 80, the alloy, for example, being a specialferrous-nickel alloy having a Curie temperature or point of 390 which isapproximately double the desired hair treating temperature at the outersurface 66 of the hair roller.

In operation, when it is desired to heat a hair roller 12, the usermerely places the hair roller at the top of the housing 14 such that itdrops into the passage 26 facilitated by the widened mouth thereof. Asthe hair roller drops to the body of passage 26, it contacts the upperportion 30 of ramp 28 and the teeth 62 protruding from the ramp willmesh with the teeth 88 and 92 of the hair roller 12 with rack and piniontype engagement, the plastic teeth 62 and the electrically conductiveteeth 48 forming the rack and the insulative teeth 88 and 92 of the hairroller forming the pinion. Due to the downward inclination of the ramp28, the roller 12 will roll from the upper portion 30 to the heatingposition 32 where the magnetic field established by the permanent magnet58 will hold the hair roller 12 in place due to the magnet permeabilityof the alloy 94. With the hair roller 12 held at the heating position,the electrical supply contacts formed by the teeth 48 will extendbetween the protruding teeth 88 and 92 of the hair roller and throughthe apertures 86 and 90 to provide an electrical connection with heatercontacts 82 and 84, respectively, such that electricity will be suppliedto the heating element 80 to generate heat internally of the hair roller12. Once the internal heat of the hair roller 12 reaches thepredetermined Curie temperature of the alloy 92, the magnet permeabilityof .the'alloy 94 will be sufficiently reduced torelease the hair rollerand permit it to roll down the ramp 28 to the receptacle 34 from whichthe user may grasp the hair roller for application to the hair.

Due to the recessed position of the heatercontacts 82 and 84 relativetothe outer surface 66 of the hair roller, there are -no hot protrudingportions of the heated hair roller which could cause discomfort orinjury to the user and the teeth 88 and 92 formed integrally with thetubular body 64 further provide thermal insulation.

The housing 14 may be provided with any suitable configuration to supplya heatable hair roller'to a conductive rack portion of the heating unitand, similarly. the heatable hair rollergl2 can have any suitableinternal configuration relative to the heating element and the Curietemperature alloy as well as having any desired configuration ofcontacts and apertures or grooves in the tubular body thereof to disposethe contacts'in recessed relation to the outer surface of the hairroller.

Inasmuch as the present invention is subject to many variations,modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that all subjectmatter described above or shown in the accompanying drawings beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A heatable hair roller comprising a plastic tubular body defining anouter surface forsaid hair roller and having first and second aperturemeans therein spaced longitudinally on said body, said aperture meanseach extending around the circumference of said body;

alloy means having a predetermined Curie temperature disposed in saidtubular body; and

electrical heating means in said body in heat transfer relation withsaid alloy means and including first contact means disposed within saidtubular body in alignment with said first aperture means to expose saidfirst contact means in recessed relation to the outer surface of saidtubular body and second contact means disposed within said tubular bodyin alignment with said second aperture means to expose said secondcontact means in recessed relation to said outer surface of said tubularbody to thereby permit electricity to be supplied to said electricalheating means.

2. A heatable hair roller as recited in claim 1 wherein said tubularbody has an inner surface, said first and second contact means includeelectrically conductive ring means disposed contiguous with said innersurface, and said first and second aperture means include a plurality ofspaced apertures arranged around said body to expose said ring means.

3. A heatable hair roller as recited in claim 1 wherein said tubularbody includes a cylindrical wall.

4. A heatable hair roller as recited in claim 1 wherein said first andsecond contact means are disposed adjacent opposite ends of sid tubularbody.

5. A heatable hair roller as recited in claim 4 wherein said tubularbody is formed by a cylindrical wall defining said outer surface and aninner surface, said first contact is an electrically conductive ringdisposed adjacent said inner surface, said second contact is anelectrically conductive ring disposed adjacent said inner surface, saidfirst aperture means includes a plurality of not extending beyond saidouter surface defining said j apertures.

' 7. A heating unit for electrically heating hair rollers comprising aramp defining a heating position, a lower portion therebelow and anupper portion thereabove;

passage means for supplying a hair roller to be heated j to said upperportion of said ramp;

magnet means carried by said ramp at said heating i position and adaptedto cooperate with a magnetic member in a hair roller for holding a hairroller to be heated thereat; and

a pair of electrical contacts disposed on opposite sides of said ramp atsaid heating position and adapted to have a source of electricityconnected thereacross, said pair of electrical contacts each includingelectrically conductive protrusion means extending upwardly from saidramp for supplying electricity to a hair roller having electricalheating means and a pair of longitudinally spaced circumferentiallyextending aperture means exposing electrical contact means, saidprotrusion means sized and spaced to mate with said aperture means topermit electricity to be supplied to said electrical heating means tosaid roller to be heated at said heating position.

8. A heating unit as recited in claim 7 wherein said protrusion meansfor each of said pair of contacts includes a plurality of conductiveteeth.

9. A heating unit as recited in claim 8 and further comprising aplurality of non-conductive teeth extending from said upper portion ofsaid ramp in alignment with said conductive teeth.

10. A heating unit as recited in claim 9 wherein said lower portioncontains a receptacle for receiving hair rollers after heating.

11. In combination, a heatable hair roller including a plastic tubularbody with first and second aperture means formed therein, spacedlongitudinally on said body, said aperture means extending around thecircumference of said body, alloy means having a predetermined Curietemperature disposed in said tubular body and electrical heating meansin said body in heat transfer relation with said alloy means includingfirst heater contact means disposed within said tubular body and alignedwith said first aperture means and second heater contact means disposedwithin said tubular body and aligned with said second aperture means,said first and second heater contact means being exposed through therespective aperture means; and a heating unit including a ramp defininga heating position, electrical supply contact means protruding upwardlyfrom said ramp at said heating position and being configured andarranged to be received in said respective aperture means in saidtubular body of said hair roller to provide an electrical connectionwith said heater contact means, and magnet means carried by said ramp atsaid heating position for creating a magnetic field cooperating withsaid alloy means in said hair roller to hold said hair roller on saidramp with said supply contact means electrically connected with saidheater contact means until said alloy means is heated by said electricalheating means to said predetermined Curie temperature whereupon themagnet permeability of said alloy means in said hair roller is reducedto permit said hair roller to move along said ramp away from saidheating position.

12. A combination as recited in claim 11 wherein said heater contactmeans includes first and second electrically conductive rings disposedat opposite ends of said tubular and exposed through said aperture meansbody and said supply contact means includes first and second conductiveprotrusions extending from said ramp for providing electrical connectionwith said first and second heater contact rings. respectively.

13. A combination as recited in claim 12 wherein said aperture meansincludes a plurality of spaced apertures extending around saidtubular'body of said hair roller in alignment with said first and secondheater contact rings.

14. A combination as recited in claim 13 wherein said tubular body iscylindrical in configuration and the portion of said body between saidapertures defines a plurality of teeth aligned'w'ith each of saidcontact rings.

15. A combination as recited in claim 14 wherein said supply contactprotrusions each include a plurality of electrically conductive teethadapted to mesh with said teeth on said hair roller to be received insaid apertures.

1. A heatable hair roller comprising a plastic tubular body defining anouter surface for said hair roller and having first and second aperturemeans therein spaced longitudinally on said body, said aperture meanseach extending around the circumference of said body; alloy means havinga predetermined Curie temperature disposed in said tubular body; andelectrical heating means in said body in heat transfer relation withsaid alloy means and including first contact means disposed within saidtubular body in alignment with said first aperture means to expose saidfirst contact means in recessed relation to the outer surface of saidtubular body and second contact means disposed within said tubular bodyin alignment with said second aperture means to expose said secondcontact means in recessed relation to said outer surface of said tubularbody to thereby permit electricity to be supplied to said electricalheating means.
 2. A heatable hair roller as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid tubular body has an inner surface, said first and second contactmeans include electrically conductive ring means disposed contiguouswith said inner surface, and said first and second aperture meansinclude a plurality of spaced apertures arranged around said body toexpose said ring means.
 3. A heatable hair roller as recited in claim 1wherein said tubular body includes a cylindrical wall.
 4. A heatablehair roller as recited in claim 1 wherein said first and second contactmeans are disposed adjacent opposite ends of sid tubular body.
 5. Aheatable hair roller as recited in claim 4 wherein said tubular body isformed by a cylindrical wall defining said outer surface and an innersurface, said first contact is an electrically conductive ring disposedadjacent said inner surface, said second contact is an electricallyconductive ring disposed adjacent said inner surface, said firstaperture means includes a plurality of spaced apertures in said wallarranged around said body to expose said first ring contact and saidsecond aperture means includes a plurality of spaced apertures in saidwall arranged around said body to expose said second ring contact.
 6. Aheatable hair roller as recited in claim 5 wherein said body hasoutwardly converging tapered side walls not extending beyond said outersurface defining said apertures.
 7. A heating unit for electricallyheating hair rollers comprising a ramp defining a heating position, alower portion therebelow and an upper portion thereabove; passage meansfor supplying a hair roller to be heated to said upper portion of saidramp; magnet means carried by said ramp at said heating position andadapted to cooperate with a magnetic member in a hair roller for holdinga hair roller to be heated thereat; and a pair of electrical contactsdisposed on opposite sides of said ramp at said heating position andadapted to have a source of electricity connected thereacross, said pairof electrical contacts each including electrically conductive protrusionmeans extending upwardly from said ramp for supplying electricity to ahair roller having electrical heating means and a pair of longitudinallyspaced circumferentially extending aperture means exposing electricalcontact means, saiD protrusion means sized and spaced to mate with saidaperture means to permit electricity to be supplied to said electricalheating means to said roller to be heated at said heating position.
 8. Aheating unit as recited in claim 7 wherein said protrusion means foreach of said pair of contacts includes a plurality of conductive teeth.9. A heating unit as recited in claim 8 and further comprising aplurality of non-conductive teeth extending from said upper portion ofsaid ramp in alignment with said conductive teeth.
 10. A heating unit asrecited in claim 9 wherein said lower portion contains a receptacle forreceiving hair rollers after heating.
 11. In combination, a heatablehair roller including a plastic tubular body with first and secondaperture means formed therein, spaced longitudinally on said body, saidaperture means extending around the circumference of said body, alloymeans having a predetermined Curie temperature disposed in said tubularbody and electrical heating means in said body in heat transfer relationwith said alloy means including first heater contact means disposedwithin said tubular body and aligned with said first aperture means andsecond heater contact means disposed within said tubular body andaligned with said second aperture means, said first and second heatercontact means being exposed through the respective aperture means; and aheating unit including a ramp defining a heating position, electricalsupply contact means protruding upwardly from said ramp at said heatingposition and being configured and arranged to be received in saidrespective aperture means in said tubular body of said hair roller toprovide an electrical connection with said heater contact means, andmagnet means carried by said ramp at said heating position for creatinga magnetic field cooperating with said alloy means in said hair rollerto hold said hair roller on said ramp with said supply contact meanselectrically connected with said heater contact means until said alloymeans is heated by said electrical heating means to said predeterminedCurie temperature whereupon the magnet permeability of said alloy meansin said hair roller is reduced to permit said hair roller to move alongsaid ramp away from said heating position.
 12. A combination as recitedin claim 11 wherein said heater contact means includes first and secondelectrically conductive rings disposed at opposite ends of said tubularand exposed through said aperture means body and said supply contactmeans includes first and second conductive protrusions extending fromsaid ramp for providing electrical connection with said first and secondheater contact rings, respectively.
 13. A combination as recited inclaim 12 wherein said aperture means includes a plurality of spacedapertures extending around said tubular body of said hair roller inalignment with said first and second heater contact rings.
 14. Acombination as recited in claim 13 wherein said tubular body iscylindrical in configuration and the portion of said body between saidapertures defines a plurality of teeth aligned with each of said contactrings.
 15. A combination as recited in claim 14 wherein said supplycontact protrusions each include a plurality of electrically conductiveteeth adapted to mesh with said teeth on said hair roller to be receivedin said apertures.